Redone Post Time Has Smoothed Out A Lot Of Rough Edges

November 10, 1985|By Captain Kilmer Joyce

When a bar can conduct business as usual while undergoing a thorough remodeling, it means the place will be ready for action under almost any circumstances. I'm talking specifically about the Post Time Lounge (600 S. U.S. Highway 17-92, Longwood), a country bar that has been gradually changing its looks during the past three months while still making change at the cash register.

My drinking companion, Miss J, and I have periodically been visiting the Post Time just to check out the pattern of improvement. The Post Time has been around since the days when Longwood was little more than a rural outpost, more than 25 years ago. It now has new clapboard siding and a bright blue awning. The inside smells less of booze and beer than of newly carpentered wood and fresh paint. The stage is now about 30 percent roomier than before.

Also disappearing with the old Post Time decor is its reputation as a rough saloon. The roughest things I saw were some nearly impossible shots made on the bar's two pool tables.

Mike Pinter, who has owned the lounge for the past 2 1/2 years, said he hopes the fixup will be completed within the next three to four weeks, so he can finally throw his grand-opening shindig.

The main draws at the lounge? For some it's the Post Time's proximity to the Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club. For others it's the live music (from 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays) or the inexpensive drinks (priced from $1.75 during entertainment hours) or the Sunday-night jam sessions, which have been attracting country musicians from all over the area. For Miss J and me it's all of the above as well as the remodeling.

Lounge hours are from noon to 2 a.m. daily. This week's band: Shotgun.

Change-ups and changeovers: The rock 'n' roll club Carrie Nation's (11636 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando) has shut down. Owners Elliot Weisser and Dick Bonafide could not be reached for comment.

Also, Chappy's Irish Singing Pub and Steakhouse (1900 N. U.S. Highway 17-92, Fern Park) is now Zacary's, a restaurant that specializes in fresh fish and steaks. Zacary's owner Mike Payson said that Chappy's former owner, Miles C. McDonnell, retired from the restaurant business. Once he finds the right musician, Payson is planning to continue the piano bar tradition established by McDonnell in the restaurant's pub.

Follow-ups later.

Fiddling with a vision: Jazz violinist John Blake has three times won the ''talent deserving wider recognition'' award in Down Beat magazine's annual critics' poll. Versed in a number of styles, including classical European and Eastern-Indian techniques, Blake put in four years with pianist McCoy Tyner's group and with saxophonist Grover Washington. Now Blake has his own group (consisting of pianist Sid Simmons, bassist Gerald Veasley and drummer Pete Vinson), a new album (Twinkling of an Eye) and a tour schedule that includes a stop in Orlando.